Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing method and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium

ABSTRACT

A technique capable of improving uniformity of characteristics of a film formed on a surface of a substrate by a rotary type apparatus. According to one aspect a substrate processing apparatus is provided including: a process chamber for processing a substrate; a substrate support in the process chamber and including a plurality of placement parts for placing the substrate; a rotating part to rotate the substrate support; a heater provided below or within the substrate support; a first nozzle above the placement parts so as to face the placement parts and including a first portion with no hole to thermally decompose a process gas; and a second nozzle above the placement parts and parallel with the first nozzle and including a second portion with no hole to thermally decompose the process gas; and controller for controlling a positional relationship between the substrate and first nozzle via the rotating part.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This non-provisional U.S. patent application is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/985,552, filed Aug. 5, 2020. Thisnon-provisional U.S. patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§ 119 of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-165950, filed on Sep. 12,2019, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus, amethod of manufacturing a semiconductor device and a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium.

2. Related Art

As an apparatus of processing a semiconductor substrate, a rotary typeapparatus may be used. For example, according to the rotary typeapparatus, a plurality of substrates are arranged on a substrate supportof the rotary type apparatus along a circumferential direction, andvarious gases are supplied onto the plurality of the substrates byrotating the substrate support. In addition, a vertical type apparatusmay also be used. For example, according to the vertical type apparatus,a source gas is supplied onto a plurality of substrates stacked in thevertical type apparatus by using a source gas nozzle extending along astacking direction of the plurality of the substrates stacked in thevertical type apparatus.

According to the rotary type apparatus, for example, the plurality ofthe substrates including a substrate of 300 mm are arranged along thecircumferential direction, and a heat treatment process may be performedto the plurality of the substrates arranged on the substrate support.Therefore, for example, when the source gas is supplied by using anI-shaped nozzle, the source gas supplied to the plurality of thesubstrates may be thermally decomposed in the I-shaped nozzle as atemperature of the rotary type apparatus increases. As a result, athickness of a film formed on a surface of each of the plurality of thesubstrates may vary along a radial direction of the substrate.

SUMMARY

Described herein is a technique capable of improving a uniformity of thecharacteristics of a film formed on a surface of a substrate by a rotarytype apparatus

According to one aspect of the technique of the present disclosure,there is provided a substrate processing apparatus including: a processchamber in which a substrate is processed; a substrate support providedin the process chamber and including a plurality of placement parts onwhich the substrate is placed; a rotating part configured to rotate thesubstrate support; a heater provided below or within the substratesupport and configured to heat the substrate; a first nozzle providedabove the plurality of placement parts so as to face the plurality ofplacement parts and including a first portion where no hole is providedsuch that a process gas is thermally decomposed while passing throughthe first portion; a second nozzle provided above the plurality ofplacement parts so as to face the plurality of placement parts as anauxiliary nozzle and arranged in parallel with the first nozzle, thesecond nozzle including a second portion where no hole is provided suchthat the process gas is thermally decomposed while passing through thesecond portion, wherein the first portion and the second portion areprovided at positions facing the heater; and a controller configured tobe capable of controlling the rotating part such that a positionalrelationship between the substrate and the first nozzle changes as arotation of the substrate support proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a horizontal cross-section of a reactorof a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodimentdescribed herein.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a vertical cross-section taken alongthe line A-A′ of the reactor of the substrate processing apparatusaccording to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a substrate support mechanism accordingto the first embodiment described herein.

FIG. 4A schematically illustrates a source gas supply part according tothe first embodiment described herein, FIG. 4B schematically illustratesa reactive gas supply part according to the first embodiment describedherein, FIG. 4C schematically illustrates a first inert gas supply partaccording to the first embodiment described herein and FIG. 4Dschematically illustrates a second inert gas supply part according tothe first embodiment described herein.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a vertical cross-section of the reactorfor explaining an exhaust port of the reactor of the substrateprocessing apparatus according to the first embodiment described herein

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a nozzle according to the firstembodiment described herein and a thermal decomposition amount of asource gas flowing in the nozzle according to the first embodimentdescribed herein.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration ofa controller and related components of the substrate processingapparatus according to the first embodiment described herein.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart schematically illustrating a substrate processingaccording to the first embodiment described herein.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart schematically illustrating a film-forming step ofthe substrate processing according to the first embodiment describedherein.

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a horizontal cross-section of areactor of a substrate processing apparatus according to a secondembodiment described herein.

FIG. 11A schematically illustrates nozzles of the substrate processingapparatus according to the second embodiment described herein whenviewed from above. FIG. 11B schematically illustrates verticalcross-sections of the nozzles of the substrate processing apparatusaccording to the second embodiment described herein. FIG. 11Cschematically illustrates vertical cross-sections of nozzles of thesubstrate processing apparatus according to a modified example of thesecond embodiment described herein.

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates a vertical cross-section of a reactorfor explaining an exhaust port of the reactor of the substrateprocessing apparatus according to a modified example of the firstembodiment described herein

FIG. 13 schematically illustrates a vertical cross-section of a reactorfor explaining an exhaust port of the reactor of the substrateprocessing apparatus according to another modified example of the firstembodiment described herein

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, one or more embodiments (also simply referred to as“embodiments”) according to the technique of the present disclosure willbe described with reference to the drawings.

FIRST EMBODIMENT (1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a reactor 200 of a substrate processingapparatus (also referred to a “rotary type apparatus”) includes aprocess vessel 203 which is a cylindrical sealed vessel (hermeticvessel). For example, the process vessel 203 is made of a material suchas stainless steel (SUS) and an aluminum alloy. A process chamber 201 inwhich a plurality of substrates including a substrate S are processed isprovided in the process vessel 203. A gate valve 205 is connected to theprocess vessel 203. The substrate S is loaded (transferred) into orunloaded (transferred) out of the process vessel 203 through the gatevalve 205.

The process chamber 201 includes a process region 206 to which a processgas such as a source gas and a reactive gas is supplied and a purgeregion 207 to which a purge gas is supplied. According to the firstembodiment, the process region 206 and the purge region 207 arealternately arranged along a circumferential direction of the processchamber 201. For example, a first process region 206 a, a first purgeregion 207 a, a second process region 206 b and a second purge region207 b are arranged along the circumferential direction in this order. Asdescribed later, for example, the source gas is supplied into the firstprocess region 206 a, the reactive gas is supplied into the secondprocess region 206 b, and an inert gas serving as the purge gas issupplied into the first purge region 207 a and the second purge region207 b. As a result, a predetermined processing (substrate processing) isperformed to the substrate S in accordance with the gas supplied intoeach region.

The purge region 207 is configured to spatially separate the firstprocess region 206 a and the second process region 206 b. A ceiling 208of the purge region 207 is disposed lower than a ceiling 209 of theprocess region 206. Specifically, a ceiling 208 a is provided at thefirst purge region 207 a, and a ceiling 208 b is provided at the secondpurge region 207 b. By lowering each of the ceilings such as the ceiling208 a and the ceiling 208 b, it is possible to increase a pressure of aspace of the purge region 207. By supplying the purge gas into the spaceof the purge region 207, it is possible to partition the adjacentprocess region 206 (that is, the first process region 206 a and thesecond process region 206 b). In addition, the purge gas is configuredto remove excess gases on the substrate S.

A rotary table 217 configured to be rotatable is provided at a centerportion of the process vessel 203. A rotating shaft of the rotary table217 is provided at a center of the process vessel 203. For example, therotary table 217 is made of a material such as quartz, carbon andsilicon carbide (SiC) such that the substrate S is not affected by themetal contamination.

The rotary table 217 is configured such that the plurality of thesubstrates (for example, five substrates) including the substrate S canbe arranged within the process vessel 203 on the same plane and alongthe same circumference along a rotational direction “R”. In the presentspecification, the term “the same plane” is not limited to a perfectlyidentical plane but may also include a case where, for example, theplurality of the substrates including the substrate S are arranged so asnot to overlap with each other when viewed from above.

A plurality of concave portions (also simply referred to as “concaveportions”) 217 b serving as placement parts are provided on a surface ofthe rotary table 217 to support the plurality of the substratesincluding the substrate S. The number of the concave portions 217 b isequal to the number of the substrates to be processed. For example, theplurality of the concave portions 217 b are arranged at the samedistance from a center of the rotary table 217, and are arranged alongthe same circumference at equal intervals (for example, 72° intervals).In FIG. 1 , the illustration of the plurality of the concave portions217 b is omitted for simplification.

Each of the concave portions 217 b is of a circular shape when viewedfrom above and of a concave shape when viewed by a verticalcross-section thereof. It is preferable that a diameter of each of theconcave portions 217 b is slightly greater than a diameter of thesubstrate S. A plurality of substrate placing surfaces are providedrespectively at the bottoms of the plurality of the concave portions 217b. For example, the substrate S may be placed on the substrate placingsurface by being placed on one of the concave portions 217 b.Through-holes 217 a penetrated by pins 219 described later are providedat each of the substrate placing surfaces.

A substrate support mechanism 218 shown in FIG. 3 is provided in theprocess vessel 203 at a position below the rotary table 217 and facingthe gate valve 205. The substrate support mechanism 218 includes thepins 219 configured to elevate or lower the substrate S and to support aback surface of the substrate S when the substrate S is loaded into orunloaded out of the process chamber 201. The pins 219 may be of anextendable configuration. For example, the pins 219 may be accommodatedin a main body of the substrate support mechanism 218. When thesubstrate S is transferred, the pins 219 are extended and pass throughthe through-holes 217 a. Thereby, the substrate S is supported by thepins 219. Thereafter, by moving front ends of the pins 219 downward, thesubstrate S is placed on one of the concave portions 217 b. For example,the substrate support mechanism 218 is fixed to the process vessel 203.The substrate support mechanism 218 may be embodied by any configurationas long as the pins 219 can be inserted into the through-holes 217 awhen the substrate S is placed, and may also be fixed to an innerperipheral convex portion 282 or an outer peripheral convex portion 283described later.

The rotary table 217 is fixed to a core portion 221. The core portion221 is provided at the center of the rotary table 217 and configured tofix the rotary table 217. Since the core portion 221 supports the rotarytable 217, for example, the core portion 221 is made of a metal that canwithstand the weight of the rotary table 217. A shaft 222 is providedbelow the core portion 221. The shaft 222 supports the core portion 221.

A lower portion of the shaft 222 penetrates a hole 223 provided at abottom of the process vessel 203, and a vessel 204 capable ofhermetically sealing the shaft 222 covers a periphery of the lowerportion of the shaft 222. The vessel 204 is provided outside the processvessel 203. A lower end of the shaft 222 is connected to a rotating part(also referred to as a “rotating mechanism”) 224. The rotating part 224is provided with components such as a rotating shaft (not shown) and amotor (not shown), and is configured to rotate the rotary table 217according to an instruction from a controller 300 described later. Thatis, the controller 300 controls the rotating part 224 to rotate therotary table 217 about a point (for example, about the center of thecore portion 221) provided outside the substrate S, so that thesubstrate S sequentially passes through the first process region 206 a,the first purge region 207 a, the second process region 206 b and thesecond purge region 207 b in this order.

A quartz cover 225 is provided so as to cover the core portion 221. Thatis, the quartz cover 225 is provided between the core portion 221 andthe process chamber 201. The quartz cover 225 is configured to cover thecore portion 221 via a space between the core portion 221 and theprocess chamber 201. For example, the quartz cover 225 is made of amaterial such as quartz and SiC such that the substrate S is notaffected by the metal contamination. The core portion 221, the shaft222, the rotating part 224 and the quartz cover 225 may be collectivelyreferred to as a “support part”.

A heater mechanism 281 is provided below the rotary table 217. Aplurality of heaters including a heater 280 serving as a heating deviceare embedded in the heater mechanism 281. The plurality of heatersincluding the heater 280 are configured to heat the plurality of thesubstrate including the substrate S placed on the rotary table 217,respectively. The plurality of the heaters including the heater 280 arearranged along the same circumference in accordance with a shape of theprocess vessel 203.

The heater mechanism 281 is constituted mainly by: the inner peripheralconvex portion 282 provided on the bottom of the process vessel 203 andon the center portion of the process vessel 203; the outer peripheralconvex portion 283 disposed outside the heater 280; and the heater 280.The inner peripheral convex portion 282, the heater 280 and the outerperipheral convex portion 283 are arranged concentrically. A space 284is provided between the inner peripheral convex portion 282 and theouter peripheral convex portion 283. The heater 280 is disposed in thespace 284. Since the inner peripheral convex portion 282 and the outerperipheral convex portion 283 are fixed to the process vessel 203, theinner peripheral convex portion 282 and the outer peripheral convexportion 283 may be considered as a part of the process vessel 203.

While the first embodiment will be described by way of an example inwhich the heater 280 of a circular shape is used, the first embodimentis not limited thereto as long as the substrate S can be heated by theheater 280. For example, the heater 280 may be divided into a pluralityof auxiliary heater structures. For example, the heater 280 may beembedded in the rotary table 217.

A flange 282 a is provided at an upper portion of the inner peripheralconvex portion 282 to face the heater 280. A window 285 is supported onupper surfaces of the flange 282 a and the outer peripheral convexportion 283. For example, the window 285 is made of a material capableof transmitting the heat generated by the heater 280 such as quartz. Thewindow 285 is fixed by interposing the window 285 between the innerperipheral convex portion 282 and an upper portion 286 a of an exhauststructure 286 described later.

A heater controller (also referred to as a “heater temperaturecontroller”) 287 is connected to the heater 280. The heater controller287 is electrically connected to the controller 300 described later, andis configured to control the supply of the electric power to the heater280 according to an instruction from the controller 300 to perform atemperature control.

An inert gas supply pipe 275 communicating with the space 284 isprovided at the bottom of the process vessel 203. The inert gas supplypipe 275 is connected to a second inert gas supply part 270 describedlater. The inert gas supplied through the second inert gas supply part270 is supplied to the space 284 through the inert gas supply pipe 275.By setting the space 284 to an inert gas atmosphere, it is possible toprevent the process gas from entering the space 284 through a gap in thevicinity of the window 285.

The exhaust structure 286 made of a metal is disposed (provided) betweenan outer peripheral surface of the outer peripheral convex portion 283and an inner peripheral surface of the process vessel 203. The exhauststructure 286 includes an exhaust groove 288 and an exhaust buffer space289. Each of the exhaust groove 288 and the exhaust buffer space 289 isof a ring shape in accordance with the shape of the process vessel 203.

A portion of the exhaust structure 286 which is not in contact with theouter peripheral convex portion 283 is referred to as the upper portion286 a. As described above, the upper portion 286 a is configured to fixthe window 285 together with the inner peripheral convex portion 282.

According to the rotary type apparatus (also referred to as a “rotarytype substrate processing apparatus”) as in the first embodiment, it ispreferable that a height of the substrate S is same as or close to aheight of an exhaust port described later. When the height of theexhaust port is lower than that of the substrate S, a turbulent flow ofthe gas may occur at an end portion of the rotary table 217. On theother hand, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the turbulentflow by setting the height of the substrate S to be the same as or closeto the height of an exhaust port.

According to the first embodiment, an upper end of the exhaust structure286 is provided at the same height as the rotary table 217. When theupper end of the exhaust structure 286 is provided at the same height asthe rotary table 217, as shown in FIG. 2 , a protrusion of the upperportion 286 a protrudes from the window 285. To prevent the particlesfrom diffusing, a quartz cover 290 is provided to cover the protrusionof the upper portion 286 a. Without the quartz cover 290, the gas maycome into contact with the upper portion 286 a, corrode the upperportion 286 a and generate the particles in the process chamber 201. Aspace 299 is provided between the quartz cover 290 and the upper portion286 a.

An exhaust port 291 and an exhaust port 292 are provided at a bottom ofthe exhaust structure 286. The exhaust port 291 and an exhaust port 292serve as a first exhaust part (also referred to as a “first exhaustmechanism”). The source gas supplied into the first process region 206 aand the purge gas supplied through an upstream side of the first processregion 206 a are mainly exhausted through the exhaust port 291. Thereactive gas supplied into the second process region 206 b and the purgegas supplied through an upstream side of the second process region 206 bare mainly exhausted through the exhaust port 292. Each of the gasesdescribe above is exhausted through the exhaust port 291 and the exhaustport 292 via the exhaust groove 288 and the exhaust buffer space 289.

Subsequently, a source gas supply part (also referred to as a “sourcegas supply mechanism” or a “source gas supply system”) 240 will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4A. As shown in FIG. 1 , anozzle 245 extending toward the center of the process vessel 203penetrates a side of the process vessel 203. The nozzle 245 is providedin the first process region 206 a. For example, the nozzle 245 isconstituted by a plurality of nozzles, and a downstream end of a gassupply pipe 241 is connected to each of the plurality of the nozzlesconstituting the nozzle 245. The nozzle 245 will be described later indetail.

A source gas supply source 242, a mass flow controller (MFC) 243 servingas a flow rate controller (also referred to as a “flow rate controlmechanism”) and a valve 244 serving as an opening/closing valve areprovided at the gas supply pipe 241 in the sequential order from anupstream side to a downstream side of the gas supply pipe 241.

The source gas is supplied into the first process region 206 a throughthe nozzle 245 via the gas supply pipe 241 provided with the MFC 243 andthe valve 244.

In the present specification, the source gas is one of process gases,and serves as a source when a film is formed. The source gas contains atleast one element constituting the film. For example, the source gascontains at least one element among silicon (Si), titanium (Ti),tantalum (Ta), hafnium (Hf), zirconium (Zr), ruthenium (Ru), nickel(Ni), tungsten (W) and molybdenum (Mo).

Specifically, according to the first embodiment, for example,dichlorosilane (Si₂H₂Cl₂) gas may be used as the source gas. When asource of the source gas is a gaseous state under the normal temperature(room temperature), a gas mass flow controller is used as the MFC 243.

The source gas supply part (also referred to as a “first gas supplysystem” or a “first gas supply part”) 240 is constituted mainly by thegas supply pipe 241, the MFC 243, the valve 244 and the nozzle 245. Thesource gas supply part 240 may further include the source gas supplysource 242.

Subsequently, a reactive gas supply part (also referred to as a“reactive gas supply mechanism” or a “reactive gas supply system”) 250will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4B. As shown in FIG. 1 ,a nozzle 255 extending toward the center of the process vessel 203penetrates a side of the process vessel 203. The nozzle 255 is providedin the second process region 206 b.

A gas supply pipe 251 is connected to the nozzle 255. A reactive gassupply source 252, an MFC 253 and a valve 254 are provided at the gassupply pipe 251 in the sequential order from an upstream side to adownstream side of the gas supply pipe 251.

The reactive gas is supplied into the second process region 206 bthrough the nozzle 255 via the gas supply pipe 251 provided with the MFC253 and the valve 254.

In the present specification, the reactive gas is one of the processgases, and refers to a gas that reacts with a first layer formed on thesubstrate S by supplying the source gas. For example, the reactive gasmay include at least one among ammonia (NH₃) gas, nitrogen (N₂) gas,hydrogen (H₂) gas and oxygen (O₂) gas. Specifically, according to thefirst embodiment, for example, the NH₃ gas may be used as the reactivegas.

The reactive gas supply part (also referred to as a “second gas supplysystem” or a “second gas supply part”) 250 is constituted mainly by thegas supply pipe 251, the MFC 253, the valve 254 and the nozzle 255. Thereactive gas supply part 250 may further include the reactive gas supplysource 252.

Subsequently, a first inert gas supply part (also referred to as a“first inert gas supply mechanism” or a “first inert gas supply system”)260 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4C. As shown in FIG.1 , each of a nozzle 265 and a nozzle 266 extending toward the center ofthe process vessel 203 penetrates a side of the process vessel 203. Thenozzle 265 is provided in the first purge region 207 a. For example, thenozzle 265 may be fixed to the ceiling 208 a of the first purge region207 a. The nozzle 266 is provided in the second purge region 207 b. Forexample, the nozzle 266 may be fixed to the ceiling 208 b of the secondpurge region 207 b.

A downstream end of an inert gas supply pipe 261 is connected to thenozzle 265 and the nozzle 266. An inert gas supply source 262, an MFC263 and a valve 264 are provided at the inert gas supply pipe 261 in thesequential order from an upstream side to a downstream side of the inertgas supply pipe 261. The inert gas is supplied into the first purgeregion 207 a and the second purge region 207 b through the nozzle 265and the nozzle 266 via the inert gas supply pipe 261 provided with theMFC 263 and the valve 264. The inert gas supplied into the first purgeregion 207 a and the second purge region 207 b serves as a purge gas.

The first inert gas supply part 260 is constituted mainly by the inertgas supply pipe 261, the MFC 263, the valve 264, the nozzle 265 and thenozzle 266. The first inert gas supply part 260 may further include theinert gas supply source 262.

Subsequently, the second inert gas supply part (also referred to as a“second inert gas supply mechanism” or a “second inert gas supplysystem”) 270 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4D. Adownstream end of an inert gas supply pipe 271 is connected to the inertgas supply pipe 275. An inert gas supply source 272, an MFC 273 and avalve 274 are provided at the inert gas supply pipe 271 in thesequential order from an upstream side to a downstream side of the inertgas supply pipe 271. The inert gas is supplied into the space 284 andthe vessel 204 through the inert gas supply pipe 275 via the inert gassupply pipe 271 provided with the MFC 273 and the valve 274.

The inert gas supplied into the vessel 204 is exhausted through theexhaust groove 288 via a space between the rotary table 217 and thewindow 285. With such a structure, it is possible to prevent the sourcegas and the reactive gas from flowing into the space between the rotarytable 217 and the window 285.

The second inert gas supply part 270 is constituted mainly by the inertgas supply pipe 271, the MFC 273, the valve 274 and the inert gas supplypipe 275. The second inert gas supply part 270 may further include theinert gas supply source 272.

In the present specification, the inert gas may include at least oneamong nitrogen (N₂) gas and a rare gas such as helium (He) gas, neon(Ne) gas and argon (Ar) gas. Specifically, according to the firstembodiment, for example, the N₂ gas may be used as the inert gas.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 , the exhaust port 291 and the exhaust port292 are provided at the process vessel 203. An exhaust port 296 servingas a second exhaust part (also referred to as a “second exhaustmechanism”) is provided at the rotary table 217.

The exhaust port 291 is provided outside the rotary table 217 at arotationally downstream side of the first process region 206 a in therotation direction “R”. Thus, by exhausting (discharging) the source gasthermally decomposed and supplied to the substrate S through the firstprocess region 206 a, it is possible to suppress the influence of thethermally decomposed source gas on the substrate S. The source gas andthe inert gas are mainly exhausted through the exhaust port 291. Anexhaust pipe 234 a which is a part of an exhaust part (also referred toas an “exhaust mechanism” or an “exhaust system”) 234 is provided so asto communicate with the exhaust port 291. A vacuum pump 234 b serving asa vacuum exhaust device is connected to the exhaust pipe 234 a via avalve 234 d serving as an opening/closing valve and an APC (AutomaticPressure Controller) valve 234 c serving as a pressure controller (alsoreferred to as a “pressure adjusting mechanism”). The vacuum pump 234 bis configured to vacuum-exhaust an inner atmosphere of the processchamber 201 such that an inner pressure of the process chamber 201reaches a predetermined pressure (vacuum degree).

The exhaust pipe 234 a, the valve 234 d and the APC valve 234 c arecollectively referred to as the exhaust part 234. The exhaust part 234may further include the vacuum pump 234 b.

The exhaust port 296 is provided closer to a center portion of theprocess chamber 201 than the plurality of the concave portions 217 b ofthe rotary table 217 on which the plurality of the substrates includingthe substrate S are placed. By providing the exhaust port 296, the gassupplied to a center portion of the rotary table 217 is exhausted to aspace below the rotary table 217 through the exhaust port 296. The gasexhausted to the space below the rotary table 217 is then exhaustedthrough the exhaust port 291 provided at an outer portion of the processchamber 201. A partition 294 configured to separate the first processregion 206 a from other process region such as the second process region206 b is provided at the ceiling 209 of the first process region 206 aon the center portion of the rotary table 217. As described above, theexhaust port 296 is provided closer to the center portion of the processchamber 201 than the plurality of the concave portions 217 b of therotary table 217. In addition, the exhaust port 296 is provided closerto an outer portion of the rotary table 217 than the partition 294.Thus, by exhausting (discharging) the source gas thermally decomposedand supplied to the substrate S through the first process region 206 a,it is possible to suppress the influence of the thermally decomposedsource gas on the substrate S. The exhaust port 296 is provided so as tocommunicate with the space between the rotary table 217 and the window285. The source gas and the inert gas are mainly exhausted through theexhaust port 296.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , an exhaust part 235 is provided so as tocommunicate with the exhaust port 292. The exhaust port 292 is providedoutside the rotary table 217 at a rotationally downstream side of thesecond process region 206 b in the rotation direction “R”. The reactivegas and the inert gas are mainly exhausted through the exhaust port 292.

An exhaust pipe 235 a which is a part of the exhaust part 235 isprovided so as to communicate with the exhaust port 292. A vacuum pump235 b is connected to the exhaust pipe 235 a via a valve 235 d and anAPC valve 235 c. The vacuum pump 235 b is configured to vacuum-exhaustthe inner atmosphere of the process chamber 201 such that the innerpressure of the process chamber 201 reaches a predetermined pressure(vacuum degree).

The exhaust pipe 235 a, the valve 235 d and the APC valve 235 c arecollectively referred to as the exhaust part 235. The exhaust part 235may further include the vacuum pump 235 b.

Subsequently, the nozzle 245 will be described in detail with referenceto FIGS. 1 and 6 . For example, the nozzle 245 is used as a part of thesource gas supply part 240 configured to supply a silicon (Si)-basedSi₂H₂Cl₂ gas serving as the source gas to the first process region 206a.

For example, the nozzle 245 is constituted by a nozzle 245 a serving asa main nozzle and nozzles 245 b, 245 c and 245 d serving as auxiliarynozzles. For example, each of the nozzles 245 a, 245 b, 245 c and 245 dis embodied by an I-shaped nozzle, and arranged in parallel to eachother in the first process region 206 a. Each of the nozzles 245 athrough 245 d is made of a cleaning resistant material such as quartzand ceramics.

Each of the nozzles 245 a through 245 d extends along a radial directionof the rotary table 217 from a wall 203 a of the process vessel 203toward the center portion of the rotary table 217.

A hole 255 a of a round shape (hereinafter, also referred to as theround hole 255 a) is provided at a front end of the nozzle 245 a, whichis at a downstream end of the gas flow in the nozzle 245 a. The roundhole 255 a is provided at a side of the nozzle 245 a facing theplurality of the concave portions 217 b of the rotary table 217. Thatis, the round hole 255 a is provided to face the substrate S on therotary table 217. In addition, the nozzle 245 a includes a portion 265 afree of a hole. The portion 265 a where no hole is provided isconfigured to thermally decompose the source gas. That is, the nozzle245 a includes the portion 265 a provided at a side of the nozzle 245 afacing the heater 280.

A hole 255 b of a round shape (hereinafter, also referred to as theround hole 255 b) is provided at a front end of the nozzle 245 b, whichis at a downstream end of the gas flow in the nozzle 245 b. The roundhole 255 b is provided at a side of the nozzle 245 b facing theplurality of the concave portions 217 b of the rotary table 217. Thatis, the round hole 255 b is provided to face the substrate S on therotary table 217. The nozzle 245 b is shorter than the nozzle 245 a, anda nozzle diameter and a hole diameter of the nozzle 245 b are smallerthan those of the nozzle 245 a. In addition, the nozzle 245 b includes aportion 265 b free of a hole. The portion 265 b where no hole isprovided is configured to thermally decompose the source gas. That is,the nozzle 245 b includes the portion 265 b provided at a side of thenozzle 245 b facing the heater 280.

A hole 255 c of a round shape (hereinafter, also referred to as theround hole 255 c) is provided at a front end of the nozzle 245 c, whichis at a downstream end of the gas flow in the nozzle 245 c. The roundhole 255 c is provided at a side of the nozzle 245 c facing theplurality of the concave portions 217 b of the rotary table 217. Thatis, the round hole 255 c is provided to face the substrate S on therotary table 217. The nozzle 245 c is shorter than the nozzle 245 b, anda nozzle diameter and a hole diameter of the nozzle 245 c are smallerthan those of the nozzle 245 b. In addition, the nozzle 245 c includes aportion 265 c free of a hole. The portion 265 c where no hole isprovided is configured to thermally decompose the source gas. That is,the nozzle 245 c includes the portion 265 c provided at a side of thenozzle 245 c facing the heater 280.

A hole 255 d of a round shape (hereinafter, also referred to as theround hole 255 d) is provided at a front end of the nozzle 245 d, whichis at a downstream end of the gas flow in the nozzle 245 d. The roundhole 255 d is provided at a side of the nozzle 245 d facing theplurality of the concave portions 217 b of the rotary table 217. Thatis, the round hole 255 d is provided to face the substrate S on therotary table 217. The nozzle 245 d is shorter than the nozzle 245 c, anda nozzle diameter and a hole diameter of the nozzle 245 d are smallerthan those of the nozzle 245 c. In addition, the nozzle 245 d includes aportion 265 d free of a hole. The portion 265 d where no hole isprovided is configured to thermally decompose the source gas. That is,the nozzle 245 d includes the portion 265 d provided at a side of thenozzle 245 d facing the heater 280.

As described above, by providing the portions 265 a through 265 d, whereno hole is provided, on the sides of the nozzles 245 a through 245 dfacing the heater 280, respectively, the source gas supplied to each ofthe nozzles 245 a through 245 d is thermally decomposed while passingthrough the portions 265 a through 265 d of the nozzles 245 a through245 d before the source gas is supplied onto the substrate S via theround holes 255 a through 255 d of the nozzles 245 a through 245 d, andthe thermally decomposed source gas is supplied onto the substrate Sthrough the round holes 255 a through 255 d of the nozzles 245 a through245 d. That is, it is possible to thermally decompose the source gasnear the substrate S and to supply the thermally decomposed source gasonto the substrate S.

As described above, a length of the nozzle 245 a through 245 d variesfrom a rotationally upstream side to a rotationally downstream sidealong the rotation direction “R” of the substrate S. Specifically, forexample, the length of each of the nozzles 245 a through 245 d graduallydecreases from the rotationally upstream side to the rotationallydownstream side along the rotation direction “R” of the substrate S.

The nozzle diameter of each of the nozzles 245 a through 245 d variesfrom the rotationally upstream side to the rotationally downstream sidealong the rotation direction “R” of the substrate S. Specifically, forexample, the nozzle diameter of each of the nozzles 245 a through 245 dgradually decreases from the upstream side to the downstream side alongthe rotation direction “R” of the substrate S.

The hole diameter of each of the round holes 255 a through 255 d of thenozzles 245 a through 245 d varies from the rotationally upstream sideto the rotationally downstream side along the rotation direction “R” ofthe substrate S. Specifically, for example, the hole diameter of each ofthe round holes 255 a through 255 d of the nozzles 245 a through 245 dgradually decreases from the rotationally upstream side to therotationally downstream side along the rotation direction “R” of thesubstrate S.

According to the first embodiment, the length of each of the nozzles 245a through 245 d is proportional to the nozzle diameter of each of thenozzles 245 a through 245 d. That is, the nozzle provided on therotationally upstream side in the rotation direction “R” of thesubstrate S is longer than the nozzle provided on the rotationallydownstream side in the rotation direction “R” of the substrate S, andthe nozzle diameter of the nozzle provided on the rotationally upstreamside in the rotation direction “R” of the substrate S is greater thanthat of the nozzle provided on the rotationally downstream side in therotation direction “R” of the substrate S. In other words, the nozzlelength and the nozzle diameter are smaller on the rotationallydownstream side than on the rotationally upstream side in the rotationdirection “R” of the substrate S.

In addition, the nozzle diameter of each of the nozzles 245 a through245 d is proportional to the hole diameter of each of the round holes255 a through 255 d of the nozzles 245 a through 245 d. That is, thenozzle diameter and the hole diameter of the nozzle provided on theupstream side in the rotation direction “R” of the substrate S aregreater than those of the nozzle provided on the downstream side in therotation direction “R” of the substrate S, respectively. In other words,the nozzle diameter and the hole diameter of the nozzle provided on thedownstream side in the rotation direction “R” of the substrate S issmaller than those of the nozzle provided on the upstream side in therotation direction “R” of the substrate S, respectively.

That is, the nozzle diameter of the nozzle 245 a, which is the longestamong the nozzles 245 a through 245 d and extends to the vicinity of thecenter of the rotary table 217, is greater than that of the nozzle 245d, which is the shortest among the nozzles 245 a through 245 d andextends to an outer peripheral portion of the rotary table 217. Further,the hole diameter of the round hole 255 a of the nozzle 245 a is greaterthan that of the round hole 255 d of the nozzle 245 d.

In other words, the nozzle 245 d provided on the most downstream side inthe rotation direction “R” of the rotary table 217 is shorter than thenozzle 245 a provided on the most upstream side in the rotationdirection “R” of the rotary table 217. In addition, the nozzle diameterof the nozzle 245 d provided on the most downstream side in the rotationdirection “R” of the rotary table 217 is smaller than that of the nozzle245 a provided on the most upstream side in the rotation direction “R”of the rotary table 217, and the hole diameter of the round hole 255 dof the nozzle 245 d provided on the most downstream side in the rotationdirection “R” of the rotary table 217 is smaller than that of the roundhole 255 a of the nozzle 245 a provided on the most upstream side in therotation direction “R” of the rotary table 217.

The round holes 255 a through 255 d are configured such that the sourcegas can be supplied to different positions on the substrate S of therotary table 217 in the radial direction of the substrate S. Then, thethermally decomposed source gas supplied through the round holes 255 athrough 255 d is discharged through the exhaust port 291 and the exhaustport 296.

As a temperature of the apparatus (for example, an inner temperature ofthe process chamber 201) increases, the thermal decomposition of thesource gas is accelerated in the radial direction of the substrate S inthe nozzles 245 a through 245 d, and propagates from the upstream sidesto the downstream sides of the nozzles 245 a through 245 d in which thesource gas flows. That is, as shown in FIG. 6 , an amount of the thermaldecomposition (also simply referred to as a “thermal decompositionamount”) of the source gas flowing in each of the nozzles 245 a through245 d gradually increases from the upstream sides to the downstreamsides of the nozzles 245 a through 245 d as the source gas flows fromthe upstream sides to the downstream sides of the nozzles 245 a through245 d.

According to the first embodiment, as described above, the nozzles 245 athrough 245 d include the portions 265 a through 265 d where no hole isprovided, respectively, and the length, the nozzle diameter and the holediameter of each of the nozzles 245 a through 245 d are different fromeach other.

The source gas supplied to each of the nozzles 245 a through 245 d isthermally decomposed while passing through each of the portions 265 athrough 265 d. That is, by respectively providing the portions 265 athrough 265 d, where no hole is provided, at the nozzles 245 a through245 d having different lengths, nozzle diameters and hole diameters, itis possible to supply the thermally decomposed source gas onto thesubstrate S. That is, the length of each of the nozzles 245 a through245 d (or the length of each of the portions 265 a through 265 d whereno hole is provided), the nozzle diameter of each of the nozzles 245 athrough 245 d and the hole diameter of each of the nozzles 245 a through245 d are adjusted such that a thermal decomposition amount of thesource gas supplied through the round hole 255 a of the nozzle 245 a, athermal decomposition amount of the source gas supplied through theround hole 255 b of the nozzle 245 b, a thermal decomposition amount ofthe source gas supplied through the round hole 255 c of the nozzle 245 cand a thermal decomposition amount of the source gas supplied throughthe round hole 255 d of the nozzle 245 d become substantially equal toone another. As described above, by using the nozzles having differentnozzle lengths, nozzle diameters and hole diameters and including theportions where no hole is provided, it is possible to uniformize thethermal decomposition amount of the source gas supplied onto thesubstrate S through each of the nozzles. Then, by supplying the sourcegas uniformly subjected to thermal decomposition onto the substrate S inthe radial direction of the substrate S, it is possible to improve auniformity of the characteristics of the film formed on the surface ofthe substrate S

The reactor 200 includes the controller 300 configured to control theoperations of the components of the substrate processing apparatus. Asshown in FIG. 7 , the controller 300 includes at least a CPU (CentralProcessing Unit) 301 serving as an arithmetic unit, a RAM (Random AccessMemory) 302 serving as a temporary memory device, a memory device 303and a transmission/reception part 304. The controller 300 is connectedto the components of the substrate processing apparatus via thetransmission/reception part 304, calls a program or a recipe from thememory device 303 in accordance with an instruction from a hostcontroller or a user, and controls the operations of the components ofthe substrate processing apparatus according to the contents of theinstruction. The controller 300 may be embodied by a dedicated computeror by a general-purpose computer. According to the first embodiment, forexample, the controller 300 may be embodied by preparing an externalmemory device 312 storing the program and by installing the program ontothe general-purpose computer using the external memory device 312. Forexample, the external memory device 312 may include a magnetic tape, amagnetic disk such as a flexible disk and a hard disk, an optical disksuch as a CD and a DVD, a magneto-optical disk such as an MO and asemiconductor memory such as a USB memory (USB flash drive) and a memorycard. The means for providing the program to the computer is not limitedto the external memory device 312. For example, the program may besupplied to the computer (general-purpose computer) using communicationmeans such as the Internet and a dedicated line. The program may beprovided to the computer without using the external memory device 312 byreceiving the information (that is, the program) from a host apparatus320 via a transmission/reception part 311. In addition, a user can inputan instruction to the controller 300 using an input/output device 313such as a keyboard and a touch panel.

The memory device 303 or the external memory device 312 may be embodiedby a non-transitory computer readable recording medium. Hereafter, thememory device 303 and the external memory device 312 may be collectivelyreferred to as the recording medium. In the present specification, theterm “recording medium” may refer to only the memory device 303, mayrefer to only the external memory device 312 or may refer to both of thememory device 303 and the external memory device 312.

The CPU 301 is configured to read a control program from the memorydevice 303 and execute the read control program. Furthermore, the CPU301 is configured to read the recipe such as a process recipe from thememory device 303 according to an operation command inputted from theinput/output device 313. According to the contents of the read recipe,the CPU 301 may be configured to control the operations of thecomponents of the substrate processing apparatus.

(2) Substrate Processing

Subsequently, the substrate processing according to the first embodimentwill be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 . FIG. 8 is a flowchart schematically illustrating the substrate processing according tothe first embodiment described herein. FIG. 9 is a flow chartschematically illustrating a film-forming step of the substrateprocessing according to the first embodiment described herein. In thefollowing description, the operations of the components of the substrateprocessing apparatus (and the reactor 200) are controlled by thecontroller 300.

The substrate processing according to the first embodiment will bedescribed by way of an example in which a silicon nitride (SiN) filmserving as the film is formed on the substrate S by using the Si₂H₂Cl₂gas as the source gas and the NH₃ gas as the reactive gas.

A substrate loading and placing step S110 will be described. In thereactor 200, the pins 219 are elevated such that the pins 219 passthrough the through-holes 217 a of the rotary table 217. As a result,the pins 219 protrude from the surface of the rotary table 217 by apredetermined height. Subsequently, the gate valve 205 is opened, andthe substrate S is placed on the pins 219 as shown in FIG. 3 by using asubstrate transfer device (not shown). After the substrate S is placedon the pins 219, by lowering the pins 219, the substrate S is placed onone of the concave portions 217 b.

The rotary table 217 is rotated until one of the concave portions 217 b,where the substrate S is not placed, faces the gate valve 205.Thereafter, one of the substrates is placed on the above-mentioned oneof the concave portions 217 b. An operation described above is repeateduntil the plurality of the substrates including the substrate S areplaced on all of the concave portions 217 b.

After the plurality of the substrates including the substrate S areplaced on all of the concave portions 217 b, the substrate transferdevice is retracted out of the reactor 200, and the gate valve 205 isclosed to seal the process vessel 203.

When the plurality of the substrates including the substrate S areloaded into the process chamber 201, it is preferable that the N₂ gas issupplied into the process chamber 201 by the first inert gas supply part260 while exhausting the process chamber 201 by the exhaust parts 234and 235. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the particles from enteringthe process chamber 201 and from adhering onto the plurality of thesubstrates including the substrate S. The vacuum pumps 234 b and 235 bmay be continuously operated from the substrate loading and placing stepS110 until at least a substrate unloading step S170 described later iscompleted.

When the substrate S is placed on the rotary table 217, the electricpower is supplied to the heater 280 in advance such that a temperature(surface temperature) of the substrate S is adjusted to a predeterminedtemperature. For example, the predetermined temperature of the substrateS according to the first embodiment may range from the room temperatureto 650° C., preferably from the room temperature to 400° C. The electricpower may be continuously supplied to the heater 280 from the substrateloading and placing step S110 until at least the substrate unloadingstep S170 described later is completed.

In the substrate loading and placing step S110, the inert gas issupplied to the process vessel 203 and the heater mechanism 281 throughthe second inert gas supply part 270. The inert gas may be continuouslysupplied through the second inert gas supply part 270 from the substrateloading and placing step S110 until at least the substrate unloadingstep S170 described later is completed.

A step S120 of starting the rotation of the rotary table 217 will bedescribed. After the plurality of the substrates including the substrateS are placed on all of the concave portions 217 b, the controller 300controls the rotating part 224 to rotate the rotary table 217 in the “R”direction shown in FIG. 1 . By rotating the rotary table 217, thesubstrate S is moved to the first process region 206 a, the first purgeregion 207 a, the second process region 206 b and the second purgeregion 207 b sequentially in this order.

A step S130 of starting the supply of the gas will be described. Whenthe substrate S is heated to a desired temperature and the rotary table217 reaches a desired rotation speed, the valve 244 is opened to startthe supply of the Si₂H₂Cl₂ gas into the first process region 206 a. Inparallel with the supply of the Si₂H₂Cl₂ gas, the valve 254 is opened tosupply the NH₃ gas into the second process region 206 b.

In the step S130, a flow rate of the Si₂H₂Cl₂ gas is adjusted by the MFC243 to a predetermined flow rate. For example, the predetermined flowrate of the Si₂H₂Cl₂ gas in the step S130 may range from 50 sccm to 500sccm.

In the step S130, a flow rate of the NH₃ gas is adjusted by the MFC 253to a predetermined flow rate. For example, the predetermined flow rateof the NH₃ gas in the step S130 may range from 100 sccm to 5,000 sccm.

In addition, after the substrate loading and placing step S110, theprocess chamber 201 is exhausted by the exhaust parts 234 and 235 andthe N₂ serving as the purge gas is supplied into the first purge region207 a and the second purge region 207 b through the first inert gassupply part 260. In addition, by appropriately adjusting valve openingdegrees of the APC valve 234 c and the APC valve 235 c, the innerpressure of the process chamber 201 is adjusted to a predeterminedpressure.

A film-forming step S140 will be described. Here, a basic flow of thefilm-forming step S140 will be described, and the film-forming step S140will be described in detail later. In the film-forming step S140, asilicon-containing layer is formed on the substrate S in the firstprocess region 206 a. After the substrate S is rotated to the secondprocess region 206 b, by reacting the silicon-containing layer with theNH₃ gas in the second process region 206 b, a silicon nitride (SiN) filmis formed on the substrate S. The rotary table 217 is rotated apredetermined number of times so that the SiN film of a desiredthickness is obtained.

A step S150 of stopping the supply of the gas will be described. Afterthe rotary table 217 is rotated the predetermined number of times, thevalve 244 is closed to stop the supply of the Si₂H₂Cl₂ gas to the firstprocess region 206 a and the valve 254 is closed to stop the supply ofthe NH₃ gas to the second process region 206 b.

A step S160 of stopping the rotation of the rotary table 217 will bedescribed. After the supply of the Si₂H₂Cl₂ gas and the supply of theNH₃ gas are stopped according to the step S150, the rotation of therotary table 217 is stopped in the step S160.

The substrate unloading step S170 will be described. The rotary table217 is rotated to move the substrate S to the position facing the gatevalve 205. Thereafter, the substrate S is supported on the pins 219 inthe same manner as when the substrate S is loaded. After the substrate Sis supported on the pins 219, the gate valve 205 is opened, and thesubstrate S is unloaded (transferred) out of the process vessel 203using the substrate transfer device (not shown). An operation describedabove is repeated until all of the plurality of the substrates areunloaded out of the process vessel 203. After all of the plurality ofthe substrates are unloaded, the supply of the inert gas by the firstinert gas supply part 260 and the second inert gas supply part 270 isstopped.

Subsequently, the film-forming step S140 will be described in detailwith reference to FIG. 9 . The film-forming step S140 will be mainlydescribed based on the substrate S among the plurality of the substratesplaced on the rotary table 217 from a first process region passing stepS210 to a second purge region passing step S240.

As shown in FIG. 9 , during the film-forming step S140, the plurality ofthe substrates including the substrate S pass through the first processregion 206 a, the first purge region 207 a, the second process region206 b and the second purge region 207 b sequentially in this order asthe rotary table 217 is rotated.

The first process region passing step S210 will be described. As thesubstrate S passes through the first process region 206 a, the Si₂H₂Cl₂gas is supplied to the substrate S. When the substrate S passes throughthe first process region 206 a, since there is no reactive gas in thefirst process region 206 a, the Si₂H₂Cl₂ gas directly contacts (adheres)to the surface of the substrate S without reacting with the reactivegas. Thereby, the first layer is formed on the surface of the substrateS.

A first purge region passing step S220 will be described. After passingthrough the first process region 206 a, the substrate S moves to thefirst purge region 207 a. When the substrate S passes through the firstpurge region 207 a, components of the Si₂H₂Cl₂ gas which are notstrongly adhered to the substrate S in the first process region 206 aare removed from the substrate S by the inert gas.

A second process region passing step S230 will be described. Afterpassing through the first purge region 207 a, the substrate S moves tothe second process region 206 b. When the substrate S passes through thesecond process region 206 b, the first layer reacts with the NH₃ gasserving as the reactive gas in the second process region 206 b. Thereby,a second layer containing at least silicon (Si) and nitrogen (N) isformed on the substrate S.

The second purge region passing step S240 will be described. Afterpassing through the second process region 206 b, the substrate S movesto the second purge region 207 b. When the substrate S passes throughthe second purge region 207 b, gases such as HCl desorbed from thesecond layer on the substrate S in the second process region 206 b andsurplus H₂ gas are removed from the substrate S by the inert gas.

As described above, at least two gases reacting with each other aresequentially supplied to the substrate S. A cycle of the firstembodiment includes the first process region passing step S210, thefirst purge region passing step S220, the second process region passingstep S230 and the second purge region passing step S240.

A determination step S250 will be described. In the determination stepS250, the controller 300 determines whether the cycle including thefirst process region passing step S210, the first purge region passingstep S220, the second process region passing step S230 and the secondpurge region passing step S240 has been performed a predetermined numberof times. Specifically, the controller 300 counts the number of therotation of the rotary table 217.

When the cycle has not been performed the predetermined number of times(“NO” in the step S250 of FIG. 9 ), the rotary table 217 is rotated andthe cycle including the first process region passing step S210, thefirst purge region passing step S220, the second process region passingstep S230 and the second purge region passing step S240 is repeated. Byperforming the cycle the predetermined number of times, it is possibleto form the film on the substrate S.

When the cycle has been performed the predetermined number of times(“YES” in the step S250 of FIG. 9 ), the film-forming step S140 isterminated. As described above, it is possible to form the film on thesubstrate S with a predetermined thickness by performing the cycle thepredetermined number of times

(3) Effects According to First Embodiment

According to the first embodiment described above, it is possible toprovide at least one or more of the following effects.

(a) It is possible to suppress a non-uniformity of the film formed onthe substrate S due to the thermal decomposition of the source gas inthe nozzle. That is, it is possible to improve the uniformity of thethickness of the film formed on the surface of the substrate S.

(b) By providing the portions, where no hole is provided, on the sidesof the nozzles facing the heater, respectively, it is possible tothermally decompose the source gas near the substrate S and to supplythe thermally decomposed source gas onto the substrate S.

(c) By using the nozzles having different nozzle lengths, nozzlediameters and hole diameters and including the portions where no hole isprovided, it is possible to uniformize the thermal decomposition amountof the source gas supplied onto the substrate S.

(d) By providing the exhaust ports outside the rotary table and closerto the center portion of the process chamber than the plurality of theconcave portions of the rotary table and by exhausting the source gasthermally decomposed and supplied to the substrate S in the firstprocess region 206 a, it is possible to suppress the influence of thethermally decomposed source gas staying in the first process region 206a on the substrate S.

(4) Other Embodiments

While the first embodiment is described in detail, the above-describedtechnique is not limited thereto. For example, features such as thenumber of the nozzles constituting the nozzle 245, the shape of the holeof each of the nozzles, the number of the hole of each of the nozzlesand the size of the hole of each of the nozzles are not limited to thefirst embodiment described above. For example, the features may bemodified as in the following embodiments. Hereinafter, the followingembodiments will be mainly described based on the differences betweenthe first embodiment and the following embodiments. According to thefollowing embodiments, it is possible to obtain the same effects asthose of the first embodiment.

SECOND EMBODIMENT

According to a second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 10, 11A and 11B, anozzle 345 is used instead of the nozzle 245 described above.

For example, the nozzle 345 is constituted by a nozzle 345 a serving asa main nozzle and a nozzle 345 b serving as an auxiliary nozzle. Forexample, each of the nozzles 345 a and 345 b is embodied by an I-shapednozzle, and arranged in parallel to each other in the first processregion 206 a. The nozzles 345 a and 345 b are configured to extend abovethe plurality of the concave portions 217 b of the rotary table 217(that is, above the substrate S). The gas supply pipe 241 is connectedto the nozzle 345 a on the outer peripheral portion of the rotary table217, and the nozzle 345 a is configured to supply the source gas throughan outer peripheral portion of the process chamber 201 (that is, throughthe outer peripheral portion of the rotary table 217). The gas supplypipe 241 is connected to the nozzle 345 b on the center portion of therotary table 217, and the nozzle 345 b is configured to supply thesource gas through the center portion of the process chamber 201 (thatis, through the center portion of the rotary table 217). For example,the nozzle 345 b may be fixed to the ceiling 209 of the first processregion 206 a.

A plurality of holes (for example, four holes according to the secondembodiment) 355 a of a round shape (hereinafter, also referred to as theround holes 355 a) are provided at a front end of the nozzle 345 a,which is at a downstream end of the gas flow in the nozzle 345 a. Theround holes 355 a are provided at a side of the nozzle 345 a facing theplurality of the concave portions 217 b of the rotary table 217. Thatis, the round holes 355 a are provided to face the substrate S on therotary table 217. In addition, the nozzle 345 a includes a portion 365 afree of a hole, which is at an upstream side of the gas flow in thenozzle 345 a. The portion 365 a where no hole is provided is configuredto thermally decompose the source gas. That is, the nozzle 345 aincludes the portion 365 a provided at a side of the nozzle 345 a facingthe heater 280.

A plurality of holes (for example, four holes according to the secondembodiment) 355 b of a round shape (hereinafter, also referred to as theround holes 355 b) are provided at a front end of the nozzle 345 b,which is at a downstream end of the gas flow in the nozzle 345 b. Theround holes 355 b are provided at a side of the nozzle 345 b facing theplurality of the concave portions 217 b of the rotary table 217. Thatis, the round holes 355 b are provided to face the substrate S on therotary table 217. In addition, the nozzle 345 b includes a portion 365 bfree of a hole, which is at an upstream side of the gas flow in thenozzle 345 b. The portion 365 b where no hole is provided is configuredto thermally decompose the source gas. That is, the nozzle 345 bincludes the portion 365 b provided at a side of the nozzle 345 b facingthe heater 280.

As described above, by providing the portions 365 a and 365 b, where nohole is provided, on the sides of the nozzles 345 a and 345 b facing theheater 280, respectively, it is possible to thermally decompose thesource gas near the substrate S and to supply the thermally decomposedsource gas onto the substrate S.

The nozzle 345 a extends along the radial direction of the rotary table217 from the wall 203 a of the process vessel 203 toward the centerportion of the rotary table 217. The nozzle 345 b extends along theradial direction of the rotary table 217 from the center portion of therotary table 217 toward the wall 203 a of the process vessel 203. Theround holes 355 a and the round holes 355 b are arranged at differentpositions along the radial direction of the substrate S, respectively.Therefore, by differentiating supply positions of the source gas to beopposite to each other as described above, it is possible to make aheating distance to the round holes 355 a in the nozzle 345 a be equalto a heating distance to the round holes 355 b in the nozzle 345 b. Itis also possible to uniformize the thermal decomposition amount of thesource gas on the center portion and the thermal decomposition amount ofthe source gas on the outer peripheral portion of the rotary table 217(that is, to adjust the thermal decomposition amount of the source gason the center portion and the thermal decomposition amount of the sourcegas on the outer peripheral portion of the rotary table 217 to beapproximately the same).

In addition, for example, as shown in FIG. 11C, opening portions 375 aand 375 b may be provided at the front ends of the nozzles 345 a and 345b, respectively, which is at the downstream ends of the gas flow in thenozzles 345 a and 345 b. As described above, by configuring the frontends of the nozzles 345 a and 345 b to be open, it is possible tosuppress the gas such as the source gas from staying in the nozzles 345a and 345 b. In particular, it is possible to remove and discharge thethermally decomposed source gas from the nozzles 345 a and 345 b.Thereby, it is possible to suppress the generation of the particles inthe process chamber 201.

MODIFIED EXAMPLE

Subsequently, a modified example of the first embodiment in which theexhaust port 296 provided on the center portion of the process chamber201 of the reactor 200 of the substrate processing apparatus will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 12 .

According to the modified example of the first embodiment, instead ofthe exhaust port 296 provided at the rotary table 217, an exhaust port293 serving as a second exhaust part is provided at the ceiling 209closer to the center portion of the process chamber 201 and the centerportion of the rotary table 217 than the plurality of the concaveportions 217 b of the rotary table 217 on which the plurality of thesubstrates including the substrate S are placed.

That is, the exhaust port 291 is provided outside the rotary table 217of the first process region 206 a, and the exhaust port 293 is providedon the center portion of the rotary table 217 in the first processregion 206 a and at the ceiling 209 outside the partition 294. As aresult, it is possible to discharge the source gas on the center portionof the rotary table 217 thermally decomposed and supplied to thesubstrate S and the source gas on the outer peripheral portion of therotary table 217 thermally decomposed and supplied to the substrate Sfrom the first process region 206 a through the exhaust ports 293 and291, respectively. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the influence ofthe thermally decomposed source gas staying in the first process region206 a on the substrate S.

As shown in FIG. 13 , an exhaust port 295 serving as a second exhaustpart may be provided at the partition 294. The partition 294 is providedcloser to the center portion of the process chamber 201 than theplurality of the concave portions 217 b of the rotary table 217 on whichthe plurality of the substrates including the substrate S are placed.The partition 294 is provided on a surface of the ceiling 209 facing therotating shaft of the rotary table 217.

That is, the exhaust port 291 is provided outside the rotary table 217of the first process region 206 a, and the exhaust port 295 is providedat the partition 294 provided at the ceiling 209 of the first processregion 206 a on the center portion of the rotary table 217. As a result,it is possible to discharge the source gas on the center portion of therotary table 217 thermally decomposed and supplied to the substrate Sand the source gas on the outer peripheral portion of the rotary table217 thermally decomposed and supplied to the substrate S from the firstprocess region 206 a through the exhaust ports 295 and 291,respectively. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the influence of thethermally decomposed source gas staying in the first process region 206a on the substrate S.

While the technique is described in detail by way of the above-describedembodiments, the above-described technique is not limited thereto. Theabove-described technique may be modified in various ways withoutdeparting from the gist thereof.

For example, the above-described embodiments are described by way of anexample in which the round hole (or the round holes) may be provided atthe nozzles configured to supply the source gas. However, theabove-described technique is not limited thereto. For example, the roundhole (or the round holes) may be replaced by a hole (or holes) of anelongated shape or a slit shape.

For example, the above-described embodiments are described by way of anexample in which the length of each of the nozzles 245 a through 245 dgradually decreases from the rotationally upstream side to therotationally downstream side along the rotation direction “R” of thesubstrate S. However, the above-described technique is not limitedthereto. For example, the length of each of the nozzles 245 a through245 d may gradually increase from the rotationally upstream side to therotationally downstream side along the rotation direction “R” of thesubstrate S.

For example, the above-described embodiments are described by way of anexample in which the nozzle diameter of each of the nozzles 245 athrough 245 d gradually decreases from the rotationally upstream side tothe rotationally downstream side along the rotation direction “R” of thesubstrate S. However, the above-described technique is not limitedthereto. For example, the nozzle diameter of each of the nozzles 245 athrough 245 d may gradually increase from the rotationally upstream sideto the rotationally downstream side along the rotation direction “R” ofthe substrate S.

For example, the above-described embodiments are described by way of anexample in which the SiN film serving as a nitride film is formed on thesubstrate S by using the Si₂H₂Cl₂ gas as the source gas and the NH₃ gasas the reactive gas. However, the above-described technique is notlimited thereto. For example, instead of the Si₂H₂Cl₂ gas, a gas such asSiH₄, Si₂H₆, Si₃H₈, aminosilane and TSA gas may be used as the sourcegas. For example, 02 gas may be used as the reactive gas instead of theNH₃ gas to form an oxide film instead of the nitride film. Theabove-described technique may also be applied to form various films onthe substrate S. For example, a nitride film such as a tantalum nitride(TaN) film and a titanium nitride (TiN) film, an oxide film such as ahafnium oxide (HfO) film, a zirconium oxide (ZrO) film, a titanium oxide(TiO) film and a silicon oxide (SiO) film or a metal film containing ametal element such as ruthenium (Ru), nickel (Ni) and tungsten (W) maybe formed on the substrate S according to the above-described technique.When the TiN film or the TiO film is formed, for example, a gas such astetrachlorotitanium (TiCl₄) gas may be used as the source gas.

According to some embodiments in the present disclosure, it is possibleto improve the uniformity of the characteristics of the film formed onthe surface of the substrate by the rotary type apparatus.

What is claimed is:
 1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: aprocess chamber in which a substrate is processed; a substrate supportprovided in the process chamber and comprising a plurality of placementparts on which the substrate is placed; a rotating part configured torotate the substrate support; a heater provided below or within thesubstrate support and configured to heat the substrate; a first nozzleprovided above the plurality of placement parts so as to face theplurality of placement parts and comprising a first portion where nohole is provided such that a process gas is thermally decomposed whilepassing through the first portion; a second nozzle provided above theplurality of placement parts so as to face the plurality of placementparts as an auxiliary nozzle and arranged in parallel with the firstnozzle, the second nozzle comprising a second portion where no hole isprovided such that the process gas is thermally decomposed while passingthrough the second portion, wherein the first portion and the secondportion are provided at positions facing the heater; and a controllerconfigured to be capable of controlling the rotating part such that apositional relationship between the substrate and the first nozzlechanges as a rotation of the substrate support proceeds.
 2. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the positionalrelationship is defined by a distance.
 3. The substrate processingapparatus of claim 1, wherein a positional relationship between asurface of the substrate and the first nozzle is variable.
 4. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first nozzle andthe second nozzle are provided to face the substrate support.
 5. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofplacement parts revolve within the process chamber in accordance withthe rotation of the substrate support
 6. The substrate processingapparatus of claim 1, wherein a surface area vertically overlappingbetween the substrate support and the first portion changes inaccordance with the rotation of the substrate support proceeds.
 7. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second nozzlecomprises a plurality of nozzles.
 8. The substrate processing apparatusof claim 1, wherein a length of the first nozzle and a length of thesecond nozzle gradually decrease from a rotationally upstream portion toa rotationally downstream portion along a rotation direction of thesubstrate support.
 9. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8,wherein a length of the first nozzle and a length of the second nozzlegradually decrease from a rotationally upstream portion to arotationally downstream portion along a rotation direction of thesubstrate support.
 10. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1,wherein a diameter of the first nozzle and a diameter of the secondnozzle gradually decrease from a rotationally upstream portion to arotationally downstream portion along a rotation direction of thesubstrate support.
 11. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8,wherein a diameter of the first nozzle and a diameter of the secondnozzle gradually decrease from the rotationally upstream portion to therotationally downstream portion along the rotation direction of thesubstrate support.
 12. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1,wherein a diameter of the first nozzle and a diameter of the secondnozzle gradually increase from a rotationally upstream portion to arotationally downstream portion along a rotation direction of thesubstrate support.
 13. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 8,wherein a diameter of the first nozzle and a diameter of the secondnozzle gradually increase from the rotationally upstream portion to therotationally downstream portion along the rotation direction of thesubstrate support.
 14. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1,wherein a front end of the first nozzle and a front end of the secondnozzle are configured to be open.
 15. A substrate processing method byusing a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a process chamber inwhich a substrate is processed; a substrate support provided in theprocess chamber and comprising a plurality of placement parts on whichthe substrate is placed; a rotating part configured to rotate thesubstrate support; a heater provided below or within the substratesupport and configured to heat the substrate; a first nozzle providedabove the plurality of placement parts so as to face the plurality ofplacement parts and comprising a first portion where no hole is providedsuch that a process gas is thermally decomposed while passing throughthe first portion; a second nozzle provided above the plurality ofplacement parts so as to face the plurality of placement parts as anauxiliary nozzle and arranged in parallel with the first nozzle, whereinthe second nozzle comprises a second portion where no hole is providedsuch that the process gas is thermally decomposed while passing throughthe second portion, and wherein the first portion and the second portionare provided at positions facing the heater; and a controller configuredto be capable of controlling the rotating part such that a positionalrelationship between the substrate and the first nozzle changes as arotation of the substrate support proceeds, the substrate processingmethod comprising: (a) placing the substrate on at least one of theplurality of placement parts; and (b) supplying the process gas onto thesubstrate while rotating the substrate support.
 16. A non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium storing a program related to asubstrate processing apparatus comprising: a process chamber in which asubstrate is processed; a substrate support provided in the processchamber and comprising a plurality of placement parts on which thesubstrate is placed; a rotating part configured to rotate the substratesupport; a heater provided below or within the substrate support andconfigured to heat the substrate; a first nozzle provided above theplurality of placement parts so as to face the plurality of placementparts and comprising a first portion where no hole is provided such thata process gas is thermally decomposed while passing through the firstportion; a second nozzle provided above the plurality of placement partsso as to face the plurality of placement parts as an auxiliary nozzleand arranged in parallel with the first nozzle, wherein the secondnozzle comprises a second portion where no hole is provided such thatthe process gas is thermally decomposed while passing through the secondportion, and wherein the first portion and the second portion areprovided at positions facing the heater; and a controller configured tobe capable of controlling the rotating part such that a positionalrelationship between the substrate and the first nozzle changes as arotation of the substrate support proceeds, wherein the program causes,by a computer, the substrate processing apparatus to perform: (a)placing the substrate on at least one of the plurality of placementparts; and (b) supplying the process gas onto the substrate whilerotating the substrate support.